Despite glimpses of brilliance from Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli, Diogo Jota ultimately fired Liverpool into the final of the Carabao Cup as they beat the Gunners 2-0 on aggregate.
Liverpool handed Arsenal yet another night of horror. The Reds registered an emphatic 2-0 win over the Gunners in their EFL Carabao Cup semi-final second leg tie at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to brilliant goals from Diogo Jota. Liverpool will face Chelsea in the final at Wembley on February 27, with Jurgen Klopp one step closer to a first domestic cup trophy.
As for Arsenal, Thomas Partey, back early from the Africa Cup of Nations after Ghana's shocking exit, was shown the red card in the 90th minute for two bookings, having only come on as a substitute 16 minutes earlier. The midfielder's red card has now posed a cause of disciplinary concern for Arsenal, which comes at the heels of Granit Xhaka's back-to-back horror.
However, if there is one glimmer of hope for the Mikel Arteta side, it is the 20-year-old Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli. While the forward was not successful in netting a goal against Liverpool, the youngster showed sparks of brilliance on-field, leaving Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp mighty impressed. Martinelli caused trouble for Trent Alexander-Arnold down Liverpool's right flank for most parts of the game.
Heaping praise on the Brazilian for his 'outstanding' performance on Thursday night, Klopp told Sky Sports, "Martinelli, by the way, everybody should remember that name because he's an outstanding player." This is, however, not the first time Klopp has praised Martinelli. Following his 2019 League Cup 4th round show against the Reds, the German labelled him 'the talent of the century'.
While Mikel Arteta will have a lot to think about ahead of their Premier League clash against Burnley on Sunday, the Spaniard will hope that Gabriel Martinelli can be the game-changer that Arsenal desperately needs. Let's take a look at ten must-know facts about the forward, who is leaving not just the Gunners but football fans world over in awe.
Gabriel Teodoro Martinelli Silva was born on 18 June 2001 in Guarulhos, Brazil. Martinelli hailed from low-income family background and lived with his parents, Mr Joao Martinelli and Mrs Silva, in one of the poorest areas of Guarulhos - a place known for producing young football talent.
Martinelli's parents were unsure about his success in football and preferred their son to attain formal education instead. However, Gabriel chose to spend most of his time enjoying football and showed no interest in his studies.
The current Arsenal striker kick-started his playing career in futsal. He was only nine years old when the Corinthians futsal team called him for trials. Martinelli's quick feet and close control impressed the coaching staff, and he was eventually recruited into the side. At the Corinthians futsal team, Martinelli scored 122 goals. In the following year, Gabriel split between futsal and football, playing in the sub-11 teams where he scored 20 times on the court and another 11 on the pitch.
4. From 2012, the fields became Martinelli's priority, and until 2014, the youngster added 48 more goals taking his total up to 202. During his stellar stint with Corinthians, Gabriel's career saw a breakthrough as he received a professional offer from then Brazilian fourth division team, Ituano FC, in 2015. That year, the youngster also had some trials in Europe at clubs such as Manchester United and Barcelona.
On November 4 2017, Gabriel Martinelli signed his first senior team contract with Ituano FC. He made his debut the following March 17 as a late substitute for goalscorer Claudinho in a 2–1 away win. At the age of 16 and nine months, Martinelli became the youngest player to debut for the club in the century.
Martinelli netted his first senior goal on September 8 2018, scoring Ituano's second in a 4–1 away defeat of Taboão da Serra for the year's Copa Paulista. He was promoted to the first team for the Campeonato Paulista in 2019, where Martinelli scored six goals. He was the top goalscorer for Ituano, which eventually reached the quarterfinals.
On July 2 2019, Martinelli signed a long-term contract with Premier League club Arsenal. The young Brazilian made his debut for Arsenal on August 11 2019, in a 1-0 win against Newcastle United. He entered the field in the 84th minute as a substitute for Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
In the 2019 Europa League 4th round, Gabriel Martinelli became the highest-scoring teenager for a top-five European league club, netting seven goals in seven appearances in all competitions. He also became the first footballer to score four times in his first four starts since Ian Wright. In 41 appearances for the Gunners, Martinelli has netted nine goals from this season onwards been thrust upon with a huge responsibility to provide Mikel Arteta's young side with a much-needed future boost.
As far as Martinelli's international career is concerned, the youngster has made a single appearance for the U23 Brazil team in November 2019. However, the 20-year-old still has time to choose between Italy and Brazil national teams because of his dual Brazilian-Italian citizenship.
After signing his first major contract with Arsenal, Martinelli net worth has seen a significant rise to 4 million euros. The young gun also has a market value of 7 million euros. The contract with Arsenal nets Gabriel a handsome salary of 1.2 million euros per year.